Vending machines



Feb. 16, 1960 H. B. sToNER VENDING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed may7, 1954 Il |.l lhnmnlllllnlulululull..

|||W||H|| I l l l l I I l l I lill Inn M W l l -l l u d la Feb. 16, 1960H. B. sToNER VENDING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 7', 1954 1Inventor y l @l .5x6/zer www@ v N N Feb. 16, 1960 H. B. s'roNl-:R

A VENDING MACHINES l 4 sheets-sheet s Filed May 7, 1954 /Ill L Inventory n aggf. Sinner Feb. 16,1960 IH. B. STONER 2,925,307

VENDING MACHINES Filed May '1, 1.954 v v 4 sheets-sheet v4 lo Inventorl/ W .5. .5in/zer Unidsfats 1 l' 'i i A Eig. 'is afrontelevationalvewofavcndingmac "oftliefcharacter'deslcribed;showingtheoutsidecasngred' isx j f p movedtofillustratethe threeraclfunits mounted therein. e Y j' i f.' Fig. '2isgl1oriiontal sectionalview taken substantially VENDING MACHINES Y, on'line/ of -Fig.' l and Showing a coin-controlled a,

I plunger releasenechansmin place. Y. *A f mg' tsoflfll a. Fig. 3 is anelevational view of therighthand vertical cotpol'ation of Missouri Y vSeCtiQllalilbw takenalong line 3`3in Fig. 1 and showing v3 L1, f Y anierchandiseracli and its mountings. Y A r Application May 7 1954, No.428,293 l 10 Eig. '4' is a' sideelevational viewA of the dual rack unitaims j' z' 4 l' Lloc'a'tedfat;ihefri'ghi hand end ofthemachine-asvviewed,

2 Cl (cl' 31 z) in Fig.4 l, a'portnfof the rackunit being showninsection.

` FigljS isfa'n enlarged dtail sectional view taken oirl line`5f5f Fig.`Lshwing a dua lra ck and related mech-t ,l

I'hel invention relates generally tof improvements inA 15anism'insectiomfinpart. v vending machines and more'particularlytomachinesof I Fig 6` is"an`j inve``ted view ofthe dual rack'V unit}lock.1. the character which are op'zratedby thecusv'tomrl'an"mechnismgtaken ys'llsta'ntiifilly on lnev- Jof ligl'l.'IH kl whichembody a plurality o-f novelly constuctedfracksf e Referring p`AVcularly tofthe'fcompanying' drav'vir'lgs;l different Ykinds ofmerchandise and n ovel mounting'me hie, embodying thepresentlinvention-isi. forsaid racks. Y f i d v i N i Vending machinesof the'haracterI herein' di vprovided with a plurality' of-rack'nitsfs'ome' plural'ityof single -racks and'thersincluding* pl' al1 of'dual-y raeks, eachto contain vei'han'dise; ettesg'and'fauxiliary rackyun varitusv rack 'units' require periodick illing a tomary to mount themin ainannertlatwill pef access' theret0.. The'lling'ofthrck sumes. a.lconsiderable amount ofj'th'e Y hence limitingthe number ofmachinesfw c'h*can* iceddining any given time intervalyThepres'eiit inve tionQwhilepermitting -filling o fjthe racksin thecustniary -v Ymanner-,iconsderably reduces the sevicingtime'rquiredw Referente hasbeenmade heretofnreY tither fact that.f v by the incorporation in thevending'imhile fnovel cosiderameiime and'tronble isinvelved iiireplenishingv ,f Structurefthat will permit.emptyforpaftillyfempty: rack35 the 'supplyjo'f merchandise in thefrack units 10, 11 and; units to beremoved 'from the machinerandlled-r'ack 12, Thisrplenishn'g maybeaccomplishedin thfe'ljresent@A units placed therein Without requiringthe use of'anyltoolsf Y inietre'withgufremdving the rack units from 'thjvend.; VAS -ODSeqUeDCCQ'I'Ck Units Call'be' Pl'ellei'ald esill"ing'machine" or, if desired, empty or partially empty Lracki andiquicklyv placed in the machinej" Also, Qsho'illdanyVV l" units may beremoved bodily with little 'eior't andlvfull rackunit.requirereplacementfor any other' reason,-'su'ch 40 rakunitslinserted :It is this featureof the .zim5z1`1jz1-tus difsf' as for example, to adapt the machine forvending* a: dif; 'i closed which-nsirufefprt gfih ferentkind ofmerchandise, suchreplacement can"befacfy presefapplicatiom complishedeasily'. Y j 'Anov "if t' of lthe 7,. 1,

Itis;therefore,k an object-of theinvention Ytol'proyidei `ing @fparr Qth prsent/ invention isthe novel means,

f easily and*quickly-removedandfintalldl*ff 46(tof-Bedescr'ibed-pjesriuyyehfained in each iof the dual Another Objrtoftheinventionis tO'PrOvid Cvelly Y 'raek'slj The foumvin'gjdescriptionistherefore concerned Constructed mefchadiserlfacks for aVendlglmachil-"F' i L specifically with 'thejafo'r'esid structures andAtheir mode. Y

Another objectzsito provide novelYmeansfto"facilitate"f 0f 'ssmblyarrdopration. Y 't f Vf limited Ytilting Vofthe merchandise Yrack unitstorfadlita'f Tfh ieirdifg" mechanism is enclosed within afcasing qi ulgWithout remo-ving hemffOIi-hachini* i '50 anyconve'ntionalconstruction,and inasmuchV as the cas'- ,l Another-Obiectiist0Providef-inivendingmachlfn'sgdf Iingrprm lnr, 'part ffthe present invention, it `has been;'f ythe'character described, 'a novelandeimprvedstrueture i omittdfffom;the drjalwingis- Y The 'variuSym'ding rack i. Vfor mounting themerchandise-racks thereir1-1 f2 1 -1 ,juni njlliaa 12 ,laffemonted'iniairuprighi pgsition Y Anotheoble, iS .t0PYQYdB'UWeVmQaDSgOPconti@ "l ori ase "structfe'gf'orchssis, generally indicated at 17.;V f

Y ling thevdsvensing 0f merhndisefmm theedualiraekS-fi'rfeffiiig-f'to-Figuestz and 5, irwiu be observed; With fhetOregOingandotherpbiegts in rien? which Awill e 'chafs" substiimiauyrait'a'n'gul'afv iii 'shape A l of -jc'rtin noveliieaturesaqf@elimine-arrangement "ff i and" combination of par't`s reinafter'fullydescribedfi Y in y the accornpanyingdrawingsgandv particularly' thatlviioshages inthe form; nIprop`o1jti xf1-j si `z e ar1` minor details ofthe strncturema'y be made'withontfdef parting froml-the'spirit orsacricing'any of theadvantag oftheinvention;l i Y ;i i" Forsthe purposeof facilitating-aniunderstandingof invention,'Ihaveillustratedintheaccompanyingdrawings Y a preferredrembodimentthereof ,-f froxn an: inspec'tion'ioriA which,; whenv, onsidered inrconnY deseri ic,1 1,.11f1yV inventionrit Y semblyipsl-Qperatpntanslaaa t beVreadily understood `and appreciated ined 1.0111 dfi overlying; the Vsis 17:, as llus'trate'dih vFigures f, 1' and 2,*1ncludesa'fc'iri'rlardlyrk inclinedilat'ittoy alf-2" 10:l Whew rack'ieha'skbeen'p'ivoted'to an' appr'oitimatly" 35 horizontal position, lowerportion 'y may be-wi'thdraw"n fro'mslot '36; ThereVthusproifideda'multiplesiippot` forirack". 10,' onefof the supports"beingsV .alorded vby;lcwe" lateral edge .34a,' another beingtheseatin'gQofthef footiportion" 331cm thetop wall 1'9,v whilea`thir'd"con'sist`s 'of`. the yseatingof 'the' rear margin oftheincl'inedwall'l' on theinturneduange-ZM; p

A's'. h'asmbeer'iV noted hereinabove, this rackX-u'it is mountediforready movement'fr'om the operati'sefullflin position' shown' in Figure3,` intoVv a` fowardlylinclined "45 position as illustrated Y in brokenlines in said'f'gu'r'e.- Movementof therack. into the tilted o'rinclined positionv is accomplished while the front of the vendingmachine cabinet is .open and for the purpose'of facilitating fillingA ofthefracks 2"," in said u nit. When tilted forwardly, as indicated, theupper extremit'yof the rackunit`1tl"is carried forwardly of Ythe topwall offthe vending machine 7 cabinet. This permits ready insertion ofmerchandise.- throughthe topof each rack 27.1-In Vthe present instance"the merchandise is packages of'cigarettes. In orderv to limitforwardatlting-ofthe racl unit means is provided inA the for'rnofAa`1inkz 37(Fig13') hav ing lits lower end pivotally i'nounted at 38Vtothe adjacent end-wall' 22of the chassis. The uppery extremityof` thelinkf37-carries a headed pinv3:9, normally: engaged inta'. 60 slot-4l)vprovided inta. track` 41secured |irrnlyfas byu welding, tothe relatedlendwall 28 of VVthe rackl'unit When the rac-kV unit is positionedvvertically, the h'e'adedfv pin 39 islocated -closelyY adjacent-totheupper en dofthe slot. 40,-1 When the rack *unit* is tilted forwarclljas indicatedvin broken: lines inf-Figure 3 ,".t h te headed abutsthelower end oli 'the 'slot 4t) rto therebylirnit further! forward'til'tingof "the raclcunit. `Itb noted `at this .time that the hinge connection38fmountii1g the'link 37 includes aslot 42ada`pti'ngthe link `37`t"beshifted" 70 describedpresently.' Y Un'de'rfcertain servicing conditionsit may"be" more* practical ltojrernove an'ernpty orpartia'llyempty'tra'ck'unit relative' to' the hinge connection nfor. a purpose'jtobe escaso? by providing novel means whereby the link 37 may be easilyand quickly disconnected from the rack unit 10, after which said unitmay be lifted bodily out of the machine cabinet. In order to accomplishthis, the upper extremity of the slot 40 iritr'ack- 41 is formed with anenlargement as at43-o fa siz e to v permitwithdrawal of Ythe head of theheaded pin 39. Such withdrawal is ac y complishedf' onlyt aft'eif therrlinl'- 37 isshifted' upwardly, which 'I sHif-tirg' isfpifnittedby'reasonof the slot" 42"v at; the hinge connection, to align the headof the pin.39"withthe' enlarged openingljla; `whereupon the lin'lmnayV lue-pulledaway from the rack unit a distance sufficient to withdraw the headed pinsatfomaheslbt at@y The rack unit 10 is now entirely disconnected fromthe base 17 except for its connection through the hook-like formations33h.

Obviously, furthertilting forwardly of the rack unit' beyondthebroken-line position illustrated in Figure 3 will f,enable withdrawal oflower portions 35 of'hooleb from the slots`3f6. The rack unit can thenbe liftedbodily'otof'the cabinet land another rack unit mountedv,therein'th'rough a reversal of the operations described hereinabove. nl

Ashasbeen noted v hereinbefore Ythe rack unit-1l) is adualj cxk-funit,Y'Such-,a rack unit is adapted tocon'tain-I racks suilicient d cpth =to`receivethroughout the greater' v ,.,part'loftheir*length two columns ofmerchandise; This* `is perhapsbest illustrated in Figure 5, whereitwill'b'ey observedfthat onecolurnn. onffmerchandise is contained'in-VV the "forwardr portion {oi-Leach rack, 'forwardly` of d the ver+tical wall"-` 2 5,` .The secondcolurnn of merchandise conf' 1 tained' ineach oftheyrackpsoffthe rack unit'10'issupe portedoni-:theinclinedtopwall =24 ofthe chassis 17 .TheAY Structure -is` such that .when thevlevel ofmerchandise in the/forward portionof a rack reaches'. apredeterminedlevel, the merchandise containedin the rearportionof the`rack. is` thrustfforwardly off-of-its supporting surface-24intojdispensing alignment- With the merchandise remaini" ing inthefrontportion of the rack.V

In; orderA to accomplish automatic displacement of: themerchandisefinthefrear-p'ortion of the rack; said -raclc is* ,protddedwithY elongatedinserts l or auxiliary racks 44v` (Figure4)-,=each Aincludingwa backwall- 45: and a side wallY 46 perpendicular thereto. The upperextremity1 ofVIL the side wall 46 has an outwardlyprojecting-pin`47'nbre' mally seated in-the vdownwardly turnedV endportionr 48l -of a-slotl 49 provided in the related Wall 27 or partitions 26 of the respectiverack; A leaf spring 51` disposedk between Ytherack unit backwall 29 and back Wall' 4510i the insert 44 normally tends'to urge the auxiliaryrack-1 the inclined bottomw'all The'rearwardlyextending t free*'terminalA of 'the'V latch` 5 2 normally 'engagesfin'front of atonguef54 vdepending from the lower edge of the auxiliary'rack'back' wall 45, and is"adaptedtdbetre leased "onlyl when! the`levelof v merchandise in the `fr' ont" column has been depletedltolocate its uppermost'level,Y l belowfthe lowermost terminal of atrigg'er255.V

Upon-referring to Figure-5,v it will be -noted -thatfthe trigger is heldnormally out of the path of the merchanlf preloaded rack unitcontainingthe same or dilerent merl 'cliandi'se Thisl is made feasiblein the instant structure` n of the latch S2.

When the level of the merchandise in the front column has fallen belowthe free terminal of the trigger S5, said trigger will rock from theposition illustratedin'Figure 5 into the position shown in Figure 4.When this occurs, the arcuate edge 59 of the tail portion 58 will lie inthe path of a gate generally indicated at 61 (Figs. 2 and 5) which lgatefunctions, in a manner to be described presently, to lift thetrigger-latch assembly and rock the'latch about its pivot 53 so as tocarry its free terminal downwardly out of engagement with the tongue 54.The spring 51 immediately thrusts the auxiliary rack 44 into theforwardly inclined position shown in'Figure 4; This places the auxiliaryrack in position to discharge its contents into the lower or vendingportion of the forwardV part of the related main rack.

The gate 61 consists of a relativelyr wide plate 62 having arms 63 atits ends. The plate 62 is substantially coextensive with the length ofthe rack unit 10, and said arms 63 are pivoted, as at 64, to the rackunit end walls 28. Gate 6\1 is operable in response to manualmanipulation of a corresponding operating handle 14 extending throughthe front of the machine (Figs. 1 and 2). Handle 14 is connected byconventional means to an ejector plate 15 (Fig. 2) underlying thelowermost article M in the corresponding dual rack .27 to maintain thestack in the disposition shown in Fig. ,5. :A pull'on handle -14 willlatter to drop so that articleMl rests atop wal-1 portion 19.

When handle 14 is returned to its normally retracted posi# o Y tionejector plate 15 =will push lowermost article M through of the UnitedStates is:

l. AA merchandise vending machine comprising'a base and described forillustrative purposes, the structuralY detailsare nevertheless capableof widevariation within the purview of our invention as defined in theappended claims.

What I claim and' desire to secure by Letters'Patent frame includingV asubstantially horizontal wall portion having a plurality of slots, saidwall portion having upperl and lower surfaces, a rack for storingmerchandise to be vended, a plurality of hook means eachextending'downwardly from the bottom of said rack and through arespective one of said slots and engaging said wall portion said wallportion when said rack is in said upright positionV to prevent said rackfromtilting in a direction opposite said predetermined direction, eachof said hook means having pivotal mounting means spaced above saidretainp VVing means and bearing against said upper surface of saidvwithdraw plate 151from beneath the stack andcausetheV opening 16 to bedispensed and at'the same time moveY Y' under the next lowermost articletoagain support the stack. Other means (not` shown) connect handleV 14to" gate 61 so that manual manipulation of the former will cause gate 61to rock from the rearwardly inclined position illustrated in Figure 5forwardly into a substantially vertical position and then back to itsinitial position.

`When the vending mechanism is actuated, the gate'61V is rockedforwardly to close thevendi'ng opening l16 and then rearwardly upwardlyto re-open said vending opening andpermit discharge of the merchandisepurchased,

and at the same time its upper flanged edge 65 will strike f against thearcuate end 59 of thejdepending tail portion 58 of trigger 55, shouldthe trigger 55 have been released so as to be resting in the positionshown in Figure 4. This contact or engagement between the flange 65 ofgate 61 and the tail portion 58 lifts the trigger-latchassembly androcks the latch 52 about its ypivot 53 so as l to elect itsdisengagementfromthe tongue k5,4. As soon may be moved into a fullforward position by raising itsy After the auxiliary rack has beenfilled,- through the insertionl of merchandise :at the top thereof,the'upper pivot pin 47 upwardlyout of the slot'48 (Fig. 4),V and-then 'lcarrying it forwardly in horizontal slot 49' until its Yforward edgeabuts the front'ange on the rack. unitY 10.v 60

end of said rack isV then pushed rearwardly toagain'f locate the ypivotpin 47- in slot 48; The lower end of the auxiliary rackV 44 Yis thenpushed rearwardly manually, .and because the relatedlower portion Vofthe rack unit column in the rack unit '10 may then be completely filledafter which the'rack unitis Vreturned to its ynonna-1vervvalllportion,during said movement of said, rackto pivotally supportsaid rack during said movement, said rack having a center nof gravitynormally biasing said vrack in v,said oppositerdirection, and means forsupporting said rack in saidpupright position.,V

2. A merchandise vending machine comprising a base iframe including awall portion having a plurality of slots, `Vsaid wall portion havingupper and lower surfaces, a rack for storing merchandise tobe vended, aplurality of hook means each extending downwardly from the Vbottom'ofsaid rack and'through a respective one of said slots and engaging.V said`wall 4portion for pivotallyrmounting saidV rackfor movement in apredetermined direction from a normal or substantially upright positionthrough a prede-ov termined angular displacement toV a position in whichsaid hook means may be withdrawn from said slot, each of said hook'meanscomprising a rst edge portion normally engaging said lower surface ofsaid wall portionr to spective slot, said rack having a center ofgravity normally f pivotallybiasing saidrack in said opposite direction,and means for supporting said raclr in said upright position.

References Cited inthe tile of this patent 435,370 7836,045 'Y `MelchiorNov. 13, 1906 A1,008,384 Y ,Spaulding 1 Nov. 14; 19,11 l 1 y1,055,519Conser k.. s Mar. 11,V 1913 o 1,284,319 Grover Nov. 12, 19,18 1,331,990Grover g Feb..24, 1920 1,473,817V l Gorsline v Nov. 13,1923

1,898,192 l Larson Feb. 21, 1933i 1,925,563 Y Morin a Sept. 5, l1933 ff2,254,038 l `Hope I Y v Aug. 26, 1941 Y 2,254,841., GabrielsenV Sept. 2,1941 2,267,144 steine; Dee. 23, 1941 y 2,309,802 Vogel. .v. o Feb.2,'1943 vv2,312,985 B'al'es ..,Mar.2, 1943

